Labour seeks cyber-crime crackdown

Labour wants new powers for police and security services to crackdown on cyber-crimes such as child pornography and terrorism, but only with extra checks on how crime agencies are using sensitive data, Yvette Cooper is set to say.

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Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper will warn the Government it must not "bury its head in the sand" as she calls for reforms to keep up with ever-evolving cyber-crime.

In a speech to the Demos think tank, Ms Cooper will call for a new national strategy for tackling online fraud, tougher action to tackle online child pornography and an overhaul of parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, which keeps a check on the work of the intelligence agencies.

Yvette Cooper will warn the Government it must not'bury its head in the sand' on cyber-crime. Credit: Chris Ison/PA Wire

"The oversight and legal frameworks are now out of date. That means we need major reforms to oversight and a thorough review of the legal framework to keep up with changing technology," she is expected to say.

"Above all we need the Government to engage in a serious public debate about these new challenges and the reforms that are needed."

Labour wants new powers for police and security services to crackdown on cyber-crimes such as child pornography and terrorism, but only with extra checks on how crime agencies are using sensitive data, the shadow home secretary is set to say.

Technological developments have sparked a wave of new types of crime and a 30% hike in recorded online fraud is just the "tip of the iceberg", Yvette Cooper will warn.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper is set to make a speech later today. Credit: Press Association

But fears about abuse of information in the wake of leaks by ex-US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, which revealed widespread spying by Government listening post GCHQ, means new safeguards are needed to protect privacy.

Much stricter controls over access to private data must be introduced to give the public confidence amid fears about the way information can currently be accessed and used, she is expected to say.